Golf ball-sized hail and strong winds left a number of Powers Lake and area homes damaged and crops destroyed in a Thursday night, Aug. 7, storm described by the National Weather Service as widespread in North Dakota.

Lisa Thomas, who lives just north of Powers Lake and sustained some damage to her house, said hail damage occurred north and south of town in an area about three miles wide as well as both west and east of town, extending several miles, based on early information on the storm’s path.

The storm came with about 60 mile per hour winds.

“A lot of the west sides of the houses have golf ball to fist size holes in the siding,” Thomas said. “The lentils around here look like they’re ruined, destroyed, and peas got hit really hard. A lot of farmers were just getting going on peas or just starting to get ready to go on peas.”

Additionally, there are many trees down in the aftermath, she said.

The storm blew through between about 8:20-9 p.m.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. When it came down it was like milk. The visibility was like a snowstorm,” Thomas said. She said she also recorded about 2.5 inches of rain at her home.

Storm chaser Reed Timmer, who was in Powers Lake at the time and captured images during the storm, identified the hail as up to tennis ball size on his social media.

Also in Burke County, Bowbells was reported to have experienced overland flooding from heavy rain. The Bowbells Fire Department posted on social media that it was pumping water from an intersection.

The National Weather Service in Bismarck reported 3 inches of rain south of Powers Lake. It also reported 62 mph wind at the Minot airport, with 1.3 inches of rain north of the city and 1.4 inches 10 miles south of town.

Stanley had 2.45 inches; Harvey, 2.4 inches; and Anamoose, 2.36 inches.

“Many places received heavy rain from the system as it moved through,” meteorologist Jeff Schild said. “Widespread winds of 60 to 80 mph swept through the area.”

One of the hardest hit areas was around Jamestown, where wind damaged buildings and downed trees. A tornado warning had been in place for Foster and Stutsman counties as well as for the Maxbass area in Bottineau County. Schild said storm damage is being evaluated to determine whether any possible tornadoes touched down.

Source - https://www.minotdailynews.com